Implementing the Millennium Development Goals: Health Inequality and the Role of Global Health Partnerships

CDP Policy Note

 
New approaches for international cooperation such as global health partnerships have contributed to the strides developing countries have made in achieving health-related Millennium Development Goals. But health inequalities still persist between rich and poor countries and within countries among different socio-economic, ethnic, racial and cultural groups.

Tackling health inequalities requires an integrated approach, that is to say, giving priority to primary health care and the strengthening of the institutional and technical capacities of the health system in developing countries. While vertical approaches have a role to play in some circumstances, these interventions need to take into account the specific socio-economic environment where they take place so that the poor benefits more from health care deliveries. The note further recommends that the international community should create more flexible legal procedures to allow greater access to low cost medicines and treatments by developing countries.